Title

Author

Date of Award

1990

Availability

Article

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Anne E. Hogan, Committee Chair

Abstract

Social desirability responding was assessed in a cohort of predominantly African-American children during their first grade (N = 129) and second grade (N = 80) school years, using the Young Children's Social Desirability Scale (YCSDS) (Ford & Rubin, 1970). Relations between YCSDS scores and teacher, peer, and self-ratings of social competence were examined. It was hypothesized that YCSDS scores would be positively and significantly related to teacher and self-evaluations, but only minimally related to the assessments provided by peers. Different patterns of relations between YCSDS scores and competence ratings were observed for males and females. Only the data for first grade males were consistent with expectations. These results are discussed in terms of possible gender-related differences in the reinforcement expectancies of approval-motivated children.